It has been my observation and evaluation as the inventor of the invention entitled Knee Pocket System that my invention is a necessity and not a luxury. The said invention generally relates to a pocket design attached to a garment, a garment consisting of two pant legs of equal length surpassing the knees and reaching the ankles in most cases (jump suits, jeans, work pants, overalls, chaps, baby pants or suit, scrub pants, casual pants, military pants or any other similar pant garment), in this case in order to describe the said invention the garment is an all-purpose pant.
Identical shaped pocket designs are sized and created proportionately for each pant leg and stitched to the exterior knee area. The placement around the knee area will always be in a position that avoids any discomfort while a person is standing or kneeling. A locking device (preferably a zipper) is located at the top edge of each pocket design allowing the pocket to be opened and closed for a uniquely fitted comfort pad (durable, lightweight elastomeric foam is preferred). This comfort pad (our name for the kneepad) is matched to the dimensions of the pocket design, but slightly smaller. Each uniquely fitted comfort pad can be implanted or removed at will providing the knees with padded comfort and protection. The combined pocket design elements of the said invention give a pant garment a unique quality of appearance and a unique quality of utility. A pant garment can be worn with the Knee Pocket System for casual, for play or for work activities. People gain some added degree of comfort and some added degree of protection from rigid surfaces in case of accidental falls, from rigid surfaces during spontaneous kneeling and/or from rigid surfaces while kneeling part time or full time during work hours.
Problems associated with prior art are centered around kneepad replacement if not encased, kneepad movement and/or dislodgment, bulky or clumsy pant garments created by different kneepad arrangements and in many instances the need to carry additional kneepad equipment. Straps or too much material at the knee area can create discomfort and inconvenience making the pant garment awkward during standing and/or kneeling. The focus of prior art is mostly on a particular group of users; prior art fails to address the real needs of excluded users. The Knee Pocket System improves the approach to comfort, to protection and to convenience with reliability for everyone.
Many activities in the general population would benefit from our invention entitled Knee Pocket System. Most skateboarders (usually) do not wear any form of added knee comfort or added knee protection. And if they do wear some type of added comfort and protection, they wear bulky uncomfortable knee-padded equipment with straps. Skateboarders need to have comfort and protection for their knees, but without the anomaly that available products provide. The Knee Pocket System is a comfort and protection system that does not hinder their flows of movement. They simply wear a garment (in this case all-purpose pants) with the said invention attached to the garment (there is no discomfort, there is no inconvenience). It is a comfortable and protective way for skateboarders to maximize their activity in a safer, but natural way.
Police officers, firemen, and rescue personnel are often called to an emergency of one kind or another. Without a moment's notice or for a fraction of time the events require that they kneel; up to now they just kneel and wish they had been equipped with additional comfort and with additional protection for their knees (spontaneous kneeling occurs often during the course of events). The said invention is an unobtrusive invention that becomes a subtle part of a pant garment. It can equip these particular users with a pant garment that will provide the comfort and protection that they need. When they find themselves kneeling the said invention performs its utility and for the moments that they are not kneeling the said invention becomes a subtle part of their uniform creating no interference with their normal movement of walking and/or running.
Toddlers can have the said invention attached to a pant garment that they might wear during their crawling phase. Construction crews; floor installers; painters; roofers and other people performing a trade can have the said invention conform to their kneeling needs (of part time kneeling or full time kneeling). Kids and teenagers playing in the playground can play and run without being hindered while wearing a pant garment that includes the Knee Pocket System. A mechanic all of sudden needs to look under a car; while wearing a pant garment with the said invention, his kneeling is performed with added comfort and added protection. Other users can be photographers while filming a sporting event; stagehands while moving a staged concert; a gardener while planting vegetation; landscapers; soldiers; doctors; reporters; baseball players and golfers. These examples are just a few, but there are many circumstances that are prime examples of how such an invention improves the way people can live and/or do their work. The Knee Pocket System offers an option of unique improvement without a question. Whether the kneeling needs are casual or complicated, spontaneous or planned these needs are addressed by the Knee Pocket System.
The said invention is unique in its design and in its utility. No prior art (from Walther 514,576 A—through the more recent prior patents for this category) has the construction and/or design emphasis as the said invention. No prior art addresses the issues of major kneepad movement, of kneepad replacement and/or kneepad dislodgment as the said invention. And no prior art addresses the different work, play or casual needs of different age groups and/or work groups in the same way as the said invention. The Knee Pocket System is intended for a wide range of people needing some degree of added comfort and some degree of added protection for their knees. It does not limit itself by meeting the needs of a specific group or groups of people, such as, people that work in a trade. A person can wear a pant garment with the Knee Pocket System while walking in the park, while playing in the playground or while working on their knees part time or full time. The pant garment will not be made bulky, clumsy or inconvenient to wear because of the said invention. Instead, the pant garment will be simply attractive to wear with a utility feature that is both functional and unobtrusive.